The Uncommon Doctor
by DrownedBird
Summary: Naruto is plagued by the existence of the Kyuubi, and despite his best attempts, he can't cure his guilt over the event that happened on his birthday. His resolve to help those affected by the tailed beast attack will lead the ninja on a journey that will change the world.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Plumes of smoke rose from the old man's pipe as he gazed out of the window, lost in the view of the sunset.

"Jiji, I'm ready!" Shouted Naruto, bringing the man out of his trance.

Naruto ran into the room and jumped onto Sarutobi, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. Despite nearly dropping his pipe, the man could only smile warmly at the child.

"You are sure that you're ready? You have brushed all of your teeth?"

The boy gave a toothy grin. "Yep! Definitely. Now can I have a story?"

The pleading eyes bore into the Hokage, breaking down any resilience he might have had to the question. It was in these moments that he felt his happiest, the pain from his old wounds waned and the constant weariness of old age abated, leaving him content. The boy had a way with people, a certain spark inside him that couldn't help but warm up anyone that he met. There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto would go far in his life.

"How about the story of Jiraiya in the Land of Tea?" He suggested, placing the boy on his knee.

"That's funny... but could we have the one about the Fourth?"

The Hokage laughed. "Again? This would be the ninth time in a row!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I just really like that one and the way you tell it is so good!"

"Fine, fine. I'll tell it" Sarutobi said, taking a long drag on his pipe. The boy loved this story, though it didn't come as a great surprise.

"Firstly, there was silence. The whole village was quiet, as if under a spell. Then, in an instant, huge claws fell upon the earth, tearing up chunks the size of mountains. Giant tails whipped around, the sheer force alone enough to uproot trees. The Kyuubi descended onto the Leaf Village, doing its best to take it and everyone in it down. Our ninja fought back, but its power rivalled that of even the gods. It's ruthless attacks caused death to all that fought it, picking off ninja without discrimination. That is until one man stopped its rampage. The Fourth Hokage, the yellow flash, was able to defeat the Kyuubi in a matter of moments, but it cost him his life. The only way to defeat a tailed beast, as we know, is through sealing. He chose one person, a newborn baby, to be the saviour of the village, to keep the devastating power of the Kyuubi at bay."

As the Hokage finished the story, Naruto leapt up and cheered, falling onto the floor.

"Yeah! That's right!" He said, punching the air. "The Kyuubi finally met its greatest opponent – my stomach!"

Sarutobi could only giggle at the boy's antics. He was glad he made the choice to tell Naruto about his fate. The council can be damned, the only surviving heir of the Fourth Hokage deserved not to be alone, let alone the old man owe it to Minato for all that he did for him.

"Now, isn't it time for bed?" He said standing up holding the boy.

Naruto pouted. "Come on! Just one more story. I'm nowhere near tired yet"

"I'm sorry, but you have to go to the academy in the morning"

"Yeah right… something to look forward to" Naruto said sarcastically. "I don't learn anything there anyway"

The Hokage sighed, wishing he could do something to help. He often heard from Naruto about how he struggled with some of the material, and that he couldn't get help from the teachers.

"I know that it is difficult, but if you don't go, you won't be able to become a ninja"

Naruto waved away the comment. "As if! I'm going to become the best ninja, teachers be damned!"

Despite the declaration, the boy was scared about failing. He was eight years old, and he hadn't learnt a thing about being a ninja, or at least nothing useful. He hadn't even made friends yet. If he couldn't do even that, then how was he going to get anywhere?

Sarutobi looked at Naruto, feeling sorry for him. "I'm sure you will find something you can accel at Naruto, trust me. The world of Shinobi is vast, and the things you can learn are infinite. Just give it time"

"Don't worry about it Jiji, I'll be taking that hat soon" the boy said with a false smile.

Reaching the bed, the old man placed the child on the bed and wished him a good night. It didn't take long for the boy to fall asleep, and Sarutobi remained there for a few moments to watch him sleep. The slow rise and fall of his chest relaxed the old man. He wanted to help the boy, but there aren't many that would teach the boy outside of class, even if he ignored the fact that the council would be outraged that he was doing it, if Naruto couldn't find something he was good at and interested in, then there wasn't much point in trying to push it.

The Hokage left the small apartment, closing the door quietly as he left.

The small thud of the door alerted Naruto that the Hokage was gone, and after counting to ten he got up. Quickly throwing on his jumpsuit, the boy prepared for his long night ahead.

* * *

"Someone wake Naruto up please" Mizuki said, not even bothering to turn around.

Kiba cracked his knuckles and delivered a painful punch to the back of Naruto's head, causing him to shoot up from his seat.

"Hey! What the hell?!" The boy said, turning around. "That hurt, idiot"

"Naruto, sit down and pay attention" The teacher said, still writing on the chalkboard. "Don't fall asleep in my class"

Kiba stuck his tongue out as Naruto sat down in his seat.

The lecture droned on and despite trying to concentrate, Naruto was finding it impossible. He was running on no sleep, like most days, and after a few minutes, his head hit the table. The teacher gave up trying to wake the boy up until the end of the lesson when he threw the chalk eraser at Naruto's head.

"Ah, Naruto, it was so nice of you to join us. Class dismissed, see you all tomorrow" Mizuki said with little enthusiasm.

Naruto didn't really listen to his teacher and realised that class was over by everyone jumping up from their seats and running for the door. He was just so tired.

"Come on Naruto, I want to get out of here" Mizuki said. "Normally you jump at the chance to leave this place"

"Sorry sensei" He began. "Guess I spaced out".

Mizuki examined the boy. He used to hate him, he used to dream about taking his revenge on the boy, it was the only reason he was teaching the class. He pushed hard to get the position, all so he could get close to Naruto and eventually ruin his life. But, after a few years of teaching him, Mizuki slowly started to realise that he was no more a demon than any other student in his class. The thing that destroyed the village was being held at bay in the boy, and it was pointless trying to throw abuse at the boy unfortunate enough to have it sealed within him.

After coming to terms with this, he was left with nothing but emptiness in his heart. His family all died in the attack, and yet there was no one to blame, no way for him to get revenge for what happened. It caused the man to simply stop feeling. He couldn't even remember the last time he laughed at something. His life was simply teaching at the academy and drinking, and even that he only did so he had something to do. He just lacked the enthusiasm to do anything anymore, and everything he did do he did with ambivalence.

Naruto slowly wandered over to the door.

"You sure you are ok?" His teacher tried once more.

The boy hesitated. "Um… yeah, I'm fine, it's fine, I mean…" He trailed off as he looked at the ceiling.

"Is there something you want to ask?"

"No, don't worry about it" Naruto said, eyes averted.

Mizuki considered the boy. He shrugged.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow in class. Try to get some sleep tonight"

"Thanks, sensei" He said with a yawn, walked out the room.

The teacher was left in the room, pondering over what Naruto was thinking about. Shrugging, he left the classroom and decided to head to the Rusty Kunai as opposed to his normal place to drink as a change of pace.

Naruto ran home. He couldn't stand the stares from people. At first, he could handle it, and for all his boasting, he used to be able to not give a damn. He could walk outside from dawn until dusk and still be his usual happy self. Lately, he dreaded going outside with a passion.

Once he got inside, he simply sank into his bed, trying to forget all the things they said behind his back. He knew what they all said about him, that he was a demon, that he killed all those that died eight years ago.

The worst part of it was, he did blame himself. He had puzzled over this conundrum for a lot of his life, and despite only being eight, his answer was that being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi meant that people will blame you, and Naruto was responsible for that blame.

He allowed sleep to take him. He was going to be busy again tonight.

* * *

Run.

Dodge left, over the stall, right into the alleyway.

Over the fence, quickly.

Crap, dead end, and no place to hide.

They're here.

Naruto turned and braced himself, closing his eyes. Suddenly he flew back and slammed into a wall. His chest felt like it was burning from the kick he just received, and he was finding hard to breath.

"Finally got you, demon" The tall figure said, a sadistic smile spread across his face. "Now, I think a little payback is in order"

The boy simply stood up, arms at his sides. "I'm sorry"

"What?" The man said, anger welling up. "You think that makes it better?! You think that fixes anything?!"

A fist met the boy's face, knocking him down again.

"I'm sorry" Naruto stood up again and looked the man in the eye. "I'm sorry"

"Stop saying that!"

The man started to lay into Naruto, not stopping until he was a bloody mess on the ground.

"You can't fix what you did to me, you can't fix what you did to my family. Just die"

The figure retreated, wiping his hand on his shirt. Naruto, struggling to stay conscious, began crying. Using the wall for support, he slowly propped himself up.

"I'm sorry" He said quietly. "I'm so sorry"

The man didn't hear this and left the alley. Naruto remained in the alley, apologising repeatedly until he could no longer stand. He had lost a lot of blood, but this was his duty. The people needed an outlet, needed something to hate, and it was his job.

Naruto had no idea how long he had been sitting in his own blood for, but as the sun started to rise he decided to go home. He was going to skip class today, even with his advanced healing there was no way he could hide the damage he received tonight. He didn't need people questioning it.

He tried to move stealthily, but the man had really messed him up, and he stumbled quite a few times. It took him the better part of an hour to get back, and even longer to clean himself up.

He had thought about death, but his job couldn't allow him to die. He was keeping the Kyuubi from killing everyone, that was his duty. Or at least, that was how Naruto saw it.

The boy dearly wanted sleep, but he told himself that he didn't need it. After bandaging his wounds, he once again left his apartment.

People started to fill the streets but always gave Naruto a wide berth. He was too tired to use the roofs of buildings. He wondered how long he could keep the charade up with the Hokage. He hated lying, but he couldn't let the old man know how he was feeling, it would kill him. Besides, those brief moments he shared with Sarutobi were the only thing he could look forward to.

The boy was sure to avoid all roads that anyone he knew would travel on. He didn't want to take any chances. After the first few lessons at the academy, Naruto knew he wouldn't make friends. He had heard what the parents had been telling their children, about how bad Naruto was and how they should never speak to him. He didn't need to give them all more ammunition.

This didn't bother him, as Naruto accepted it as a part of his duty. It still hurt though.

Finding himself at his destination, he leapt into a tree and waited. He often came here, just to remind himself of what everyone had to go through. He was at the hospital, and he had found out last year who was in there because of things the Kyuubi had done. Mostly, it was people who came in for check-ups on their injuries from that time. It was hard work to gather all the information and learn the schedules of everyone, but now he could reliably tell you when each person affected would be heading to the hospital.

Sitting down on the branch, Naruto just watched things at the hospital happen. He didn't know why he came every week. He couldn't do anything about the injuries these people dealt with daily. But the guilt kept pulling him back in.

The staff in the hospital were always busy, and Naruto imagined it must be incredibly hard to do the job every day. He felt stressed just watching things unfold.

As he watched, he was struck with an idea. Why didn't he just become a medic-nin? He knew it was a difficult field, one of the hardest to get into, but right now he had no talent with anything. He figured that he might as well try to do one of the hardest ninja disciplines if it meant he could do something about all these people that have been affected by the Kyuubi. He couldn't take back all the lives snuffed out that night, but he could at least improve the lives of those still here.

With this, Naruto jumped down from the tree and started running home, a genuine smile making its way to his lips. He was going to be the best damn Medic-nin there was, and no one could shake his resolve.

* * *

Unfortunately, as it turns out, near perfect chakra control was a necessity. This didn't worry Naruto until he learnt that his control was probably the worst in his whole class. After reading a few chapters in his textbook, he knew that his poor control was the reason for his sub-par transformations.

He didn't really know what he could do. The book alluded to a few exercises he could try, but in the end, he didn't make any progress with any exercise.

It wasn't until the Hokage stopped by that Naruto was able to find his answer.

"A medic-nin? Naruto-kun are you sure?" Sarutobi questioned, a frown forming on his face.

"I know I don't have good chakra control, but I really want to be one!"

Naruto pleaded, and Sarutobi knew that the boy only wanted support. He took a drag from his pipe.

"Well, you should follow your heart Naruto. If you are prepared for the long road ahead, then you have my support"

"Really?" He said, beaming. "Thanks! Maybe you could help me with my chakra control then Jiji?"

Sarutobi laughed. "You know I can't train you my boy, but I guess I can point you in the right direction"

"What do you mean?"

"Chakra control is similar to anything you try to learn. If you want to get good at throwing kunai, how do you do it?" Naruto looked perplexed but thought about the question.

"Throw loads of kunai, I guess…" Naruto said, looking a little unsure.

"That's right. In the same vain, if you simply practice using a technique that requires chakra, you will improve your chakra control. Do you know any ninjutsu yet?"

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up. "Watch this, _Henge no Jutsu_!"

The boy ran through the hand signs quickly and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Suddenly, standing in front of the Hokage was a blond, whiskered Mizuki. Sarutobi just laughed.

"I think you might need to work on your technique Naruto" He said, poking the boy with his pipe. "You may have missed a few crucial parts in this henge"

"Damn it!" Naruto said, changing back. "That was just bad luck!"

The Hokage winked. "I'm sure it was. Maybe you need a little more practice with it"

"But I practice all the time! I never improve!"

Sarutobi thought about the technique for a moment, before coming up with a solution.

"Naruto, how about you just try to change parts of your body. Slowly change individual parts until you can do everything perfectly. Maybe that will help" The Professor said, standing up. "In any case, I have to leave"

"Do you have to?" Naruto pouted.

"Yes, besides, you have to start practising your technique. Don't forget that besides chakra control, you need a complete understanding of the human body. It really is a long road ahead" He warned, patting Naruto on the head. "I'm sure you will ace it"

"See you later Jiji, come back soon!"

Rubbing his hands together and flexing slightly, Naruto tried to remember the Hokage's advice. First, he pictured brown hair and transformed. He was met with the same blond child as before, except it looked like his hair had a little bit of dirt in it.

This might be a little harder than he thought.

Author's Note

Hi everyone!

This is my first Fanfiction, I hope you guys like it!

The first few chapters will be Naruto's progression to Genin, after which will be where I intended the story to start. Just thought I'd lay out a few things early on. I am quite new to this, so please don't hesitate to offer comments on it! I will try to read and reply to as many as I can, but I'm not god. I am sorry if I don't reach yours.

I have an idea of pairings, but I expect these won't come into play until the characters are older. I have made the decision to not say what those are, and I guess that pairings may change to what I have originally planned. I'm not really against anything, so anything could happen!

Have a nice day! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Naruto, can you stay behind after class" Mizuki said, causing the boy to give a look of surprise.

He hadn't done anything this lesson. In fact, it had been at least a year since he had acted up at all. Mizuki didn't really notice the change at first, but the boy started being awake in class and took the occasional notes. He even asked relevant questions, not that the teacher took the time to properly explain the answers.

Naruto's attention was fleeting though, and it was seemingly random. It was as if there was a switch that caused him to become interested in learning that activated every so often.

"I didn't do anything!" He exclaimed. "Why do I have to stay?"

"Don't argue Naruto"

It would be accurate to say the boy didn't learn anything for the rest of the lesson, simply choosing to glare daggers at the man.

After all, but one student left the room, the teacher called him up to the desk.

"I'm actually here Naruto because I wanted to talk to you about your last test scores"

Naruto groaned. "What test? Did I fail or something?"

"Actually Naruto, it is the exact opposite" He stated, holding the test up. "Can you tell me how you achieved a near one hundred percent on this test?"

Naruto looked at the test and shrugged.

"I just knew the answers I guess" He said, rolling his eyes. "Why do I have to stay behind because I did well? Shouldn't you be encouraging this"

"That would be true, but unfortunately this looks a little closer to cheating than anything else" The teacher pointed to an answer. "Look at this one, the question on the immune system. That is the textbook definition pretty much precisely"

"Maybe I just know about those things"

"Unlikely, given your track record"

"I have read the textbook before, I know what's in it! How come no one else gets questioned when they do well?" Naruto said in annoyance.

Mizuki stared at the boy intently. He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"You know I can't just ignore this. I would do the same to anyone that just started randomly getting near perfect test scores from getting fails. I just want to know if you are doing extra studying or something"

"Extra studying?" Naruto considered telling his teacher of all the studying he had been doing in the past year, all the nights he stayed up looking at diagrams of the body and how the various systems in it work. He even was able to sneak in on a rare lecture given at the hospital on autopsies. "I think I do about as much as anyone my age does"

There was something Naruto wasn't telling him, but he was going to let it slide. He had no evidence to support the idea that he was cheating, and if he was good enough to leave no evidence, he deserves to be a ninja.

"If you are sure, you just need to start thinking about how you are going to pass the academy. At the minute, you are scraping by in taijutsu and your knowledge of genjutsu is minimal. You only know one of the three ninjutsu you are required to know by graduation. If you keep your grades this low, the academy may decide to fail you regardless of minimum standards"

"What?!" Naruto screamed, slamming his hands on the desk. "What the hell?!"

"Calm down, calm down. I only meant that whilst those are the minimum requirements, unless you have top scores, we expect you to have another skill besides those we teach you. Look at those in your class. They are all either getting top marks across the board, or they have clan jutsu to rely on. You don't have that luxury"

Whilst Mizuki was explaining this, Naruto was formulating a plan. He couldn't tell his teachers that he was trying to become a medic-nin. The Hokage indirectly advised him to not tell everyone, as it was a lofty goal that people may ridicule. Whilst he had no qualms with being ridiculed, the academy wouldn't believe that he could become one. That meant either he had to master the mystic palm technique before he graduates, or improve another skill to the point he could rely on it.

"What can I do sensei?"

"You have a few years left to actually have something ready, but I would suggest trying to pick up a new jutsu" He said, gesturing with his hands. "Bolstering your arsenal can never hurt"

As if Naruto hadn't tried going down that avenue before.

"Come on sensei, you know learning jutsu is difficult! Surely that is the reason you are worried about me becoming a genin!"

"I'm worried because you aren't progressing in taijutsu, genjutsu and haven't made any effort to learn the remaining two jutsu. I just think it is something to consider – we all have different jutsu we are good at, and the more you practice learning a more diverse range of techniques, the better your chakra control will be"

Naruto admitted that the theory made sense, and it wasn't as if it wasn't an attractive idea. But as it is he was struggling with learning all that he wanted to know, let alone adding extra techniques in here and there.

"So how am I supposed to just 'learn a new jutsu'"

"Well, why not just get a scroll from the library"

Naruto facepalmed.

"You actually think I haven't tried learning from a scroll before?"

Mizuki laughed. "Alright, alright. How about this, I'll give you one demonstration of an easy jutsu, and you can spend your time recreating it"

The boy's eyes went wide, before he leapt up on the desk.

"Are you serious?! Hell yeah! You rock Mizuki-sensei!" He exclaimed, hopping from foot to foot.

Despite wanting to know everything about how to fix people's injuries, Naruto still loved the prospect of learning new jutsus, and he imagined one on one teaching would mean he could learn it in no time.

Mizuki sighed. "Well, at least we know what gets you interested in learning. Now could you please get off the table"

Naruto sheepishly hopped off and stared at the man patiently, giving him his full, undivided attention.

"Right, this is just a small jutsu, you do with it what you will, it is mostly used for camping. Watch closely. The hand signs are boar, horse and tiger"

Mizuki took Naruto's test and threw it into the air. He ran through the hand signs and breathed in.

" _Katon: Hibana_ " the man said as a small flame shot from his mouth and latched onto the paper. Naruto stared in wonder.

"That is an easy jutsu to learn, and the basis for bigger techniques" The teacher said, liking the attention Naruto was giving him.

"That was awesome!" Naruto said, doing the hand signs with his hands, trying to get a feel for it. "Thank you so much Mizuki-sensei!"

Mizuki rubbed the back of his head. "Don't mention it, now get out of here"

"Wait a minute, you just burnt my test!" Naruto exclaimed, staring at the still burning paper.

"Woops, so I did, looks like you will have to take it again tomorrow, under my close supervision" Mizuki said nonchalantly.

Naruto stared at the man for a full minute, before turning around and walking out. "Well played sensei, well played. I'll forgive you this time because of the jutsu lesson, but next time you won't be so lucky"

Mizuki rolled his eyes and chuckled. The kid was growing on him, that was for sure. He had never gone out of his way for any other student, so why did he for Naruto?

It didn't take long for Naruto to get back and to start going through the hand signs for the technique he was about to master. With the image of his sensei burned into his mind, he copied what he saw exactly. Boar, Horse, Tiger, and breath out.

He followed this to the letter, but nothing happened.

He tried again, but to no avail. He could feel the chakra mould and move for the technique, but nothing happened.

A little annoyed, Naruto made extra care in doing the hand signs and picturing what he wanted, before taking a deep breath and exhaling. Nothing happened.

"God damnit!" He exclaimed.

Trying to be positive, Naruto concluded that it would help to do some chakra exercises first to really get a handle on moving the chakra around his body for the technique.

As always, he closed his eyes and focussed on his chest, and pushed the chakra to his hands, arms stretching out in front as he did so.

Immediately Naruto felt something different about the exercise. If this didn't give him a clue that something was wrong, then the smell of burning flesh and the pain he was feeling in his hand could.

Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of his hands engulfed in flames, causing him to scream.

He ran straight to the sink and shoved them in the water. The whole apartment smelled like burnt meat, and Naruto's hands looked awful.

"What the hell happened?" He puzzled, trying to deal with the large amount of pain being inflicted.

Carefully, he bandaged his hands and took a few painkillers, all the while fearful to ever try using chakra ever again.

Eventually, he resolved to just try flaring some chakra. If he turns into a human fireball, at least he can deal with it in his own home and not in the academy or outside in the street.

Tentatively, he formed the ram seal and pulled.

After a few moments and realising he wasn't in mass amounts of pain, Naruto sighed in relief. At least he could still be a ninja.

Able to think about things rationally now, Naruto realised that it was obvious that his attempt at the fire jutsu caused the reaction, and it only took a few more minutes of thinking to work out how it happened.

To put it simply, he moulded chakra for the technique, which was akin to fire, but couldn't release it by breathing out. When he tried to move that chakra to his hands, it was understandable that fire would engulf that area.

Whilst it nearly cost him his hands, Naruto suddenly had an amazing idea.

* * *

Sasuke stared out the window, watching a bird fly aimlessly across the sky. This lesson bored him, these people bored him. He shouldn't be doing his, he needed to train, to prepare.

He didn't have the luxury to sit around and talk about make believe and to have fun. He was an avenger.

Such thoughts often stayed in his head, circling around until he got up and did something. For now, he needed the academy and all its not so useful lessons. It was the only way to become a genin, who can then become a jounin and learn all the high-ranking techniques they wanted.

So, he would wait until his chance. Besides, there was a few things in the school that could amuse him.

"Sorry I'm late sensei!" Naruto screamed, stumbling through the door. "It won't happen ag-ahh!"

What followed was an impressive display of rolls, flips and diving, ultimately making Naruto fall unceremoniously in the middle of the class.

Sasuke chuckled at Naruto's misfortune. The boy was a loser, but at least he provided entertainment.

"Pick yourself up and sit in a seat" Mizuki said, not turning around from the board"

Naruto hurried to the only available seat (the one next to Sasuke) and quickly got his books out and ready.

"Good afternoon, dobe" Sasuke said, smirking.

"It is still morning man, come on! I basically made it!" Naruto whispered, gesturing to the sky outside.

Sasuke noticed the bandaged hands and the badly burnt skin that wasn't quite fully covered.

"What's up with your hands?"

"Huh? Oh! That, my friend, is the product of my brand new jutsu that I invented" Naruto said proudly. "That's right, I have invented a totally new and unique jutsu. Try not to be too jealous"

Sasuke began laughing, half muffling it with his hand.

"As if dobe! You can't even make a clone"

"It's true! I spent all of last night making it, that's why I was late"

Sasuke looked back at his hands, and then shrugged and stared out the window.

"Whatever"

Naruto giggled. "You want to know, don't you?"

"I don't care"

"Come on, I know you are a sucker for a jutsu just like me. Just ask me" Naruto said, knowing exactly how to play the Uchiha.

After a few minutes of silence, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine!" He exclaimed a little too loudly, causing the whole class to look at him.

Naruto pretended to write in his notebook, only furthering the embarrassment Sasuke was feeling.

"I'll show you, don't worry" Naruto said, still pretending to write. "Though, it isn't finished yet"

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't really figured out a use for it yet" Naruto said, slightly embarrassed. "I actually stumbled onto it"

The Uchiha couldn't believe that Naruto could make a jutsu, and with each comment his curiosity doubled.

"Give me a second to get it ready" The boy said, holding one hand up in a half ram seal. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

It took about thirty seconds to mould the and move it, but as soon as he could he pushed it to his hands again.

Suddenly, flames appeared on the ends of Naruto's first two fingers, flickering gently. Sasuke took a few moments to register it, and started giggling.

"Dobe what the hell is that?!" Sasuke said, trying to keep his voice down. "It's so small!"

"Shut up! It is my first ever homemade technique! Show it some respect" Naruto said, stroking the flame. "Don't listen to the nasty man, you are beautiful, yes you are"

"What can you even do with it?"

Naruto blew the flame out. "Well, for one, I guess I can light things on fire easily" He started, saying it slowly to try and give himself time to think of a new use. "Look, don't think about what it is, think about the potential. This is a building block to a thousand amazing techniques"

Sasuke stared and the boy, and shook his head.

"I'll believe it when I see it dobe"

"Just know that I am the only one in this room to invent a jutsu. That means I am officially a genius" Naruto said, winking. "you must be awe-struck right now. I'm sorry, I can't help being the best"

Mizuki coughed, stopping Naruto's admission of greatness, and carried on with the lecture.

Sasuke couldn't stop smirking, as every time he tried thinking about something else, Naruto's antics always came back to make him laugh. He didn't have time for such nonsense, he couldn't afford to sit around and make up useless jutsu. He needed strength.

Mizuki observed the flame with curiosity.

"With just one night you were able to do this?" The teacher asked. "How did you manage this?"

Naruto smiled proudly. "Basically, I messed up the technique and instead of spitting fire out I made the technique try to exit via my hands. The result was my hands catching fire. Painful.

"But, after it I realised that I could make something out of it. A few hours of working on control and a few more to come up with a way to stop my fingers burning and suddenly I found myself with a new technique"

Mizuki couldn't believe it. The boy was for all intents and purposes failing the academy. He was far behind everyone else and didn't present any potential for growth, and yet in one night he totally redesigned and invented a jutsu. Sure, it wasn't a very good one, but if he was able to accomplish that in one night, Mizuki truly shuddered to think of how strong he could become.

"It is… well… amazing. How did you stop the burning?"

"I just focus a ton of normal chakra there beforehand" Naruto said. "I don't really get how it works, but my fingers are fine right now!"

The teacher laughed. "I am impressed Naruto, even if the jutsu is a little useless"

Naruto flinched. "Useless?!"

What followed was a ten-minute rant on all the things it would enable Naruto to do and how amazing it was, which unfortunately fell on deaf ears. Mizuki ignored most of it, and instead thought about how he could teach the boy more.

"Look, bottom line, you still haven't got a jutsu that can help you pass. But, you have the beginnings of something here"

Naruto crossed his arms, annoyed. He worked hard to make his technique, he knew it wasn't useless.

"I'll show you sensei" He said, leaving the classroom. "I'll make the technique so damn amazing I'll be able to defeat even you with it"

Despite his bravado, Naruto knew it would take a lot more than a night to make something to help him pass. But he put such matters behind him, and readied himself for training.

Mizuki marked Naruto's test, irked that every answer was correct.

"Maybe Naruto knows more than he lets on…" He wondered how Naruto came to be so knowledgeable on things related to diseases and the body. Every ninja needs a grounding in such things, but no one at his age should know that much.

Finishing marking, the teacher felt a little glimmer of pride in the boy. He was finally starting to become a ninja.

It was as he was doing this that he noticed a note tucked underneath the few books he had on his desk. He looked around, confirming he was alone.

Picking it up, his frown darkened.

"Guess I couldn't run forever"

* * *

After a week of trying to practice his skills, Naruto hadn't been able to do anything with his newest jutsu, but he had discovered that he can vary its size and intensity. He realised that it was a good exercise for training his chakra control if nothing else.

He was a little disappointed with his progress. Roughly a year and a half had passed and all he had to show for it was a little knowledge on the human body and a simple glorified matchstick jutsu, Sure, his chakra control was at a decent level now, but it wasn't any better than the other students in the class.

Regardless, after another night of not sleeping, Naruto was currently waiting for Mizuki to speak to him, as he had been asked to stay after class.

It had been a boring class, Naruto choosing to sleep through it rather than listen to it. He toyed with the idea of trying to find ways of doing something productive in it, but soon gave up. Most of his sleep came from class, and to give that up would likely kill him.

"Sorry I'm late, I just had to do a few things" He said, putting a piece of paper on Naruto's desk.

"What's that?" The boy said, skim reading its contents.

"It is a letter from the council, recommending your expulsion from the academy"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mizuki expected an exclamation of anger. He expected the boy to scream at the top of his voice, to have to spend hours explaining that it can't be helped. He had prepared for this, he had even prepared for the boy to burst out in tears. That was the plan anyway.

Naruto looked coolly at his teacher. There was a deafening silence that filled the room, and for three minutes all Naruto did was stare at Mizuki.

"Well, I suppose it was bound to happen" He replied, stretching. "I know the council has never liked me anyway"

"Huh?" The man said looking dumbfounded.

"What? You act as if this would be a massive surprise. I used to pull a lot of pranks you know, people seem to hate me for it"

Mizuki couldn't make sense of the situation. His plan hadn't accounted for this. Regardless, he had to push forward.

"A-anyway, I couldn't believe it when I heard it. I was outraged"

"That's awfully sweet of you, sensei" Naruto said, smiling. "I'm touched"

"Yeah, and well, I couldn't just let that be, so I thought of a way to get you promoted to genin regardless!"

Naruto put his hand on his chin.

"No way!"

"Turns out, it doesn't matter if you have been in the academy or not, you can get a field promotion as long as you have the right skills"

Naruto cocked his head.

"But I don't have the right skills"

"That's where this will come in handy" The man said, placing a map down on the table. "This is a map to the location of the Scroll of Seals. Take it, go to this spot in the woods and learn any technique from it. I can give you authority to do it and after, I can meet you and promote you"

"Whoa, is that really true?!" Naruto said, leaping up. "You aren't tricking me Mizuki-sensei?"

"I'm serious"

Naruto looked at the map again, and smiled.

"Alright, let's do this!"

The Chunin stood on the tree branch overlooking the clearing, looking at the panting boy. He felt some regret, but pushed it down. He had to get this over with.

Leaping into the clearing, he discretely pulled a kunai into his hand.

"Hey Naruto, I trust everything went smoothly on your end?" Mizuki asked, slowly edging towards the boy.

"Mizuki! You're early! I only had time to learn one technique!" He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"That's great, now hand over the scroll" He said curtly.

"Ok!"

Naruto picked the scroll up and walked over to the man, bowing as he did.

"Thanks for the opportunity sensei. People don't really believe in me, so it's nice to know someone out there doesn't hate me"

Mizuki took the scroll, and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Naruto"

The kunai sunk into the boy's flesh, painless at first. Naruto didn't register what had happened until the blood started to drip onto the floor.

"Sen…sei" He coughed out, before falling over.

He had to fight every instinct in his body to refrain from helping the boy. He knew it had to be done, but it didn't feel right.

A slow clap brought him out of his thoughts. Swinging around, a cloaked man stood at the edge of the clearing.

"Good job, good job indeed" They said, face covered in shadow. "His lord will be pleased"

Mizuki dropped to one knee, scroll out in front of him.

"Please accept this gift" He said cordially. "This is what I have to offer"

"Gladly"

The cloaked man walked slowly to the scroll and stroked it with his hand.

"And the best thing is that the child will take all the blame"

"What about my reward?" Mizuki said, raising his head.

"Here" He tossed a small vial to the man. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Mizuki pocketed the vial, and made to walk away with the man.

"Oh, wait!" He said, turning around. "There was one more thing that needs to be dealt with"

"What? A loose end Mizuki?" The cloaked man said, looking around the clearing.

"I guess you could call it that…"

"Hey! I have a name you know" Naruto shouted, leaping up from the pool of blood. "I'm not a loose end!"

Suddenly, Anbu blurred into existence in the clearing.

"What's the meaning of this Mizuki?!" He shouted, slowly edging back.

"Simple. I'm betraying you"

Snarling, the man tried to think of a quick escape. With the number of Anbu in the area, he was a dead man. Even if he could somehow get out of the area alive, they would hunt him down like a dog.

Mizuki was smirking, infuriating him to no end. That demon too laughed at his expense. Watching this scene in front of him, coupled with the absolute certainty that he was a dead man pushed him over the edge.

Within seconds the cloaked man had reached Naruto. Blade poised, he made out to strike the boy down.

Naruto didn't even notice the man had moved until he was right in front of him. He noticed the blade, the stance the man was in, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Fear crept into Naruto's heart as his legs went weak. All his senses were screaming for him to move, but he remained rooted to the spot. The speed the cloaked man was too fast regardless, so running wouldn't have helped a lot.

As the blade came closer, Naruto braced. He knew that this could be it. And yet he wasn't ready to die.

"Please…" Was all he could muster before blood covered area.

Mizuki stood in between the man and Naruto, arm outstretched.

"Mizuki… why?" Naruto said, tears running down his face. "You know what I am, why would you do this for me?"

The Chunin chuckled as Anbu descended onto the cloaked man. He looked at his injury.

"My body just moved on its own" Mizuki said, falling onto one knee. "Guess that what happens when you at a teacher. You protect your students"

Naruto ran to his teacher's side, ripping his shirt off and began bandaging.

He knew Mizuki wouldn't die. He would make sure of it.

"You idiot! You should have let me take the hit" He said, trying to work as fast as he could. "I've had worse!"

"Heh…" Mizuki coughed a few times. "You aren't invincible Naruto. Besides, what do I need two hands for? Marking tests only requires one"

Naruto couldn't help but cry. Knowing that Mizuki's ninja career was over because of him stung worse than any stab wound.

"Alright, let's do this!"

Naruto go up from his seat, and punched his teacher in the face.

Mizuki was stunned, and looked at the boy with a confused expression.

"Naruto?"

"Who put you up to this?" Naruto said calmly.

"W-what do you mean?" The teacher said, hand slipping into his ninja pouch.

"Come on, if the fake letter from the council wasn't enough, the story isn't enough to fool any academy student! I mean, the scroll of seals is a document protected here in the village due to its power! No way would that be involved in some trivial academy test"

The Chunin was amazed by the deductive powers demonstrated by Naruto. He started laughing.

"Guess I've been caught. That wasn't part of the plan" He said, dusting himself off.

"Then what was the plan?" Naruto said, still sporting his angry glare.

"Where do I begin…" He began, walking over to the window. "I guess you could say I was going to repay an old debt"

"You had better start making sense"

"Relax" Mizuki lit a cigarette. "Basically, when I used to take part in active duty, a mission I was leading went a little wrong, and we all ended up cornered by enemy shinobi. My squad had been killed, and it looked like that was the end of me. Right as I had said my prayers and accepted death, the ninjas were all slaughtered in an instant. Turns out that luck was on my side, and granted me some more time in this world. Downside? I was now indebted to one of the scariest men in the world. I thought he had forgotten about me, that I was safe. Fortune decided that now was my time to repay that debt"

Naruto processed the story, things clicking into place.

"He wants the scroll, and I was going to take the blame for it" Mizuki nodded.

"You were an easy target since a lot of village hate you. Guess I was a fool for thinking that a fake council letter would trick you. You must see hundreds all the time when you are with the Hokage"

Naruto didn't know what to say, so just sat down and stared at his hands.

"I understand that you may hate me now, but I didn't know what else to do"

"Are you loyal to this village, sensei?" He questioned after a long silence.

"Of course, I am" Mizuki said, sighing.

"Well then, start acting like it. We have a plan to formulate" He said, pulling out some paper.

"What? You really want to help me?"

"Why not? You admitted everything to me. It's the least I could do"

Naruto had done his best, now it was important to get him to the hospital. He picked the man up himself and, using chakra to enhance his strength, began to run back to the village.

The tears had long stopped by now, duty overriding his feeling of guilt. Naruto refused to give up running, even when his limbs burned and his heart beat so fast it hurt.

The cloaked man was taken in by the Anbu to Torture and Interrogation where Ibiki was currently dealing with him. The scroll of seals was already restored to its place in the Hokage tower and a few Anbu remained close to Naruto carrying his teacher. They didn't interfere, trying to honour the boy's wishes.

The surgery lasted forty minutes, Naruto remaining outside the room the whole time. Even after the doctor said everything was fine, the boy didn't leave. He went in sat down in the chair next to the bed.

Naruto had been in the room for an hour when the Hokage knocked on the door.

"Naruto-kun" He said, closing the door behind him.

"Jiji…" He said, tears welling up. "It's my fault… If I had been quicker, if I had just…"

"Quiet child, it's OK now. This is no fault of yours"

Naruto hugged the old man, letting his tears flow.

"You performed your duty well, and the mission was a success.

"These things happen Naruto. Mizuki knew the risks of doing this, and so did you. This is being a ninja. Happy endings are seldom in our line of work Naruto"

The boy tried to reign in his emotions. He wanted to say that the Hokage was wrong, he wanted to refuse and say that he could protect the village. He knew it wasn't possible.

"I'm going to change it" Naruto said, pulling away from Sarutobi. "I'm going to change this world"

"I hope you do, my boy" He said, tapping him on his shoulder. "If any of us can do it, I believe that you can"

Naruto looked back at Mizuki, and at the stump on his right hand. If only he could do something about it.

"It is a shame, about his hand" The Hokage said, staring at his own. "Few can continue to be a ninja afterwards. Even if he forgoes hand seals, a one-armed ninja is a liability"

The boy kept staring at the empty space where Mizuki's arm should be, and shook his head. It wasn't right, it wasn't how it was meant to happen. He couldn't let it happen.

"Jiji, did we just technically complete a mission" He asked, not taking his eyes of Mizuki.

"No technicalities Naruto, you and Mizuki just completed an A-rank mission for your village. You should be proud"

Naruto flinched at the notion of being proud, but didn't comment. It wasn't important right now.

"So, do I get mission pay?"

"I don't see why you wouldn't. Why are you worrying about that? You have a stipend to cover your bills"

Naruto wasn't really listening to the Hokage, forming a plan in his head instead.

"Could you get that money to me by tomorrow, please" Naruto said, turning to leave. "I'm going to need some extra funds"

Sarutobi was left baffled as Naruto jumped out the window and ran off home. His behaviour was unusual, but the Hokage reasoned that he had just witnessed a potentially horrifying event, so this was to be expected.

No amount of talking could make Naruto not feel responsible for what happened. He made his teacher lose an arm. He couldn't except that.

As soon as he got home, he frantically searched for a book. His apartment was always messy, but as of late he found that he had amassed an impressive little collection of material to learn medical knowledge from.

It didn't take long for the book to present itself. He picked up it, and flipped to the middle of it. Its contents brought a smile to his face, and it wasn't long before Naruto was hunkered down on his desk making notes.

* * *

"Hello everyone. Now, today we will be discussing political structures. Firstly…" Mizuki said, droning on. It had been hard adjusting to using one arm, but suffice to say after a few lessons things went back to normal. He still drank every night and taught every day. It was almost funny that he adjusted so fast.

One worry he had was Naruto. It had been a month, and he hadn't seen the boy once. Neither had anyone. He thought about stopping by, but he knew how the boy was feeling. He felt responsible for his arm, when it was anything but his fault. Mizuki shook his head. He needed to check up on the boy tonight, his life was more important than his feelings right now.

Class dragged even more so for Mizuki. Time just didn't want to move forward. He noted how quick a few people didn't make the connection between Naruto's disappearance and his injury. It was almost laughable. No one had even questioned the fact that Naruto wasn't turning up, but then again Naruto did make a habit of skipping class.

Slowly Mizuki made his way to the apartment. It was on the rough side of town, and Mizuki would had felt more comfortable with backup.

Once he reached Naruto's door, he took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself. He was never amazing at social situations. He built up the courage, and knocked.

Nothing.

He knocked again.

Still nothing.

Getting worried, Mizuki utilised he ninja training and snuck around onto the balcony where the window was ajar. He hung off the room, propped the window open with his foot and entered the room. It stunk of sweat, oil and cheap food. Empty ramen pots littered the floor, bits of papers and sketches decorated walls, ceilings and floors all over the apartment. Lying face down on the table was a small blonde child, and every fear Mizuki had was allayed.

He was curled up around something, and it was hard to get a good look at it.

It took a few attempts, but with a quick hand and a cheeky replace with a bottle, he was able to look at it in detail.

A small note lay on it. It only consisted of three words and nothing else. It read 'I did it'.

Mizuki looked at the item and smiled.

He had always wanted a prosthetic arm.

A/N

Thank you to everyone for you feedback! I hope you enjoy more chapters that I put out!


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